India, Goa

Plan lots of time relaxing in Goa, you deserve it after travelling through the rest of India!

We chose Palolem beach which is the best we think. Paradise! Other beaches have more of a party atmosphere but Palolem beats all the places we saw for natural beauty. Beautiful beach with warm water and palm trees everywhere.

Eat whatever seafood you can afford. It's more expensive than other food but so fresh and nice. Service is very slow though so have time. Beer is cheaper in Goa than most of India.

Walk over the headland to Patnem beach and further to see some more quieter beaches.

Walk or run along the beach in the early morning or do Yoga if you can.

Do an Ayurvedic massage. There are loads of places offering massages but many are not the real deal. We went to Bhakti Kutir which is up on the headland on the south of the beach and is a real yoga / massage center. It costs us 600 rupees each for a very professional hour-long massage (you need to be completely naked so should find someone you feel comfortable with).

We hired a moped for a day to see some of the other places. Although riding anything on the roads in India is normally suicide, Goa is more relaxed and it was a great day out.

Do a day trip or spend a night in Anjuna for the fleamarket. It's massive, very touristy but perfect for Christmas presents or a one-stop shop for everything Indian to buy.

Chill out!